So, it was #6 on the list, and one of three things in the top ten to still make it into the strip, but not as originally envisaged. I don’t know if that last part is better or worse. The Stone didn’t even exist on the original list, so clearly the location is different, I can’t say what effect it’s had on the impact of the moment. This could be long winded, so settle in, or please, come back later when you have more time.

There’s this podcast, Webcomics Weekly, where the podcasters posit the idea that Drama is much easier than Comedy, and I disagree with that, I did from the start. I’m no good at comedy, and I don’t pretend to be.  I can joke with friends, in a group, but I can’t distill that essence down into something writable, illustratable, I can’t shape those thoughts into a series of words and pictures, which is why I’ve never considered starting a humorous comic, it’s just not something that interests me. Which may at first give you the impression that Comedy is indeed more difficult to mange than Drama.

Where I disagree is on what we call Drama. The example the panelists provide is of a sudden death, and it’s easier to get sympathy from the audience than it would be get a laugh from the audience. I don’t consider that Drama, I consider that to be shock value. And yes, I’ll agree all day that shocking someone is much easier than getting them to laugh, but it’s also much easier than getting them to cry. (I don’t expect anyone to cry at today’s strip, I merely use ‘cry’ as the antithetical response to ‘laugh.’)

I don’t expect anyone to cry at today’s strip, because I don’t think I landed it (all the way, the plane is down, but not all the gear deployed,) because I feel that Drama, true Drama, is just as hard to write as true Comedy. Part of that is longevity, we’re only 147 strips into this thing, so Golm has been around since the beginning, and for those of you that have been around since October when readers started to come in, I do hope it is impactful in someway. But, it is only #147. In five more more years you’ll be on strip #1452 (or thereabouts,) and Golm’s presence will at that time have been only a very small thing. Part of it is the buildup, there were story moments I did hit, I thought I hit, I completely missed, and I just assumed were in there because I know what’s going on, and sometimes I take it for granted that everyone else does too.

All that being said, I feel like today was the biggest story-telling risk so far, and I was more than a little nervous about it, a little let down about how I pulled it off, and excited because we are making progress, because this is a moment I have literally been looking forward too since I started this thing. I am thrilled, thrilled I say, that we’re here, and even more excited about where we’re going next, and who else is going to be offed. So thank you all for coming along on this trip, I hope you guys are still with me on strip #1452, struggling to remember who this Golm character was anyway.